Tank truck end plate having wave-shaped brink reinforced ring

ABSTRACT

The invention relates to a tank truck end plate having a wave-shaped brink reinforced ring. An arced convex portion and an arced concave portion are continuously formed on the periphery of the end plate of the tank of the tank truck, and the region of the frame periphery of the arced concave portion is formed with an arced convex surface, which has the curvature greater than the curvature of the arced convex surface of the end plate of the tank of the conventional tank truck. According to this design, the end plate has the enhanced strength, surface smoothness, smoothness and straightness of the distal end of the periphery and the overall smoothness.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

(1) Field of the Invention

The invention relates to a tank truck end plate having a wave-shaped brink reinforced ring, and more particularly to a tank truck end plate having the enhanced strength, surface smoothness, levelness of the distal end of the periphery and the overall smoothness.

(2) Description of the Prior Art

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the conventional tank truck has a tank 1, a hollow tank body 11 and two end plates 12. The end plates 12 are respectively connected to two ends of the hollow tank body 11 and have the shapes each corresponding to the shape of the cross-sectional area of the tank body 11. The end plate 12 is mainly formed by a thin plate with the thickness of about 5 mm. The end plate 12 is formed by mainly forming a smooth and straight section 121 on the periphery of the end plate 12 by way of pressing, and an end surface 122 is connected to the turning portion of the smooth and straight section 121. The end surface 122 has the arc curvature R1.

The conventional end plate 12 may be manufactured by two methods. In the first method, an oil hydraulic press is used to press and extend a plate material into the arc-shaped (drum-shaped) end surface 122 with the arc curvature R1. Then, the plate material is fixed to molds and its periphery is knocked manually to turn and form the smooth and straight section 121. In the second method, a dedicated oil hydraulic press is used to shape, turn and press the smooth and straight section 121 at a time, and an assistant tool is used to extrude the middle arced convex portion so that the end surface 122 with the arc curvature R1 is formed.

However, the above-mentioned two methods have advantages and disadvantages. The first method can form the curved surface (the end surface 122 with the greater curvature and the better strength. However, the surface has pressure marks due to the pressing and extending, wherein the pressure marks become more serious when the aluminum material is used. In addition, the smooth and straight section 121 has the unsmooth edge and the uneven quality. Thus, after the end plate 12 is combined with the tank body 11, the longitudinal portion of the tank 1 becomes unsmooth, and filling pastes have to be applied to the surface of the end plate 12 in a labor and time consuming manner. The second method may form the pretty and uniform surface. However, the inner and outer molds cannot effectively fix the workpiece when the end plate is formed using the single turning inner arc. Thus, it is impossible to press and extrude the end surface 122 with the deeper drum shape. Thus, the strength of the end plate 12 is poor. In addition, after the workpiece is separated from the molds, the smooth and straight section 121 after turning again bounces outwards so that its distal end expands outwards and the smooth and straight section 121 cannot reach the smooth and straight state. Thus, when it is connected to the tank body 11, the smooth and straight section 121 of the end plate 12 cannot be closely connected to the wall surface of the tank body 11 and the assembling and welding qualities become poor (see FIG. 3).

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In view of the associated problems induced by the design defects of the conventional tank truck end plate, the present inventor has paid attention to the research and development according to the experience and the technology in manufacturing the associated products for many years, and thus developed this tank truck end plate of the invention.

The main object of the invention is to provide a tank truck end plate having the wave-shaped brink reinforced ring and the enhanced strength, surface smoothness, smoothness and straightness of the distal end of the periphery and the overall smoothness.

The invention achieves the above-identified object by providing an end plate tank truck having a wave-shaped brink reinforced ring. An arced convex portion and an arced concave portion are continuously formed on a periphery of the end plate of a tank of a tank truck, and a region of a frame periphery of the arced concave portion is formed with an arced convex surface, which has the curvature greater than the curvature of the arced convex surface of the end plate of the tank of the conventional tank truck.

Further aspects, objects, and desirable features of the invention will be better understood from the detailed description and drawings that follow in which various embodiments of the disclosed invention are illustrated by way of examples.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a side view showing a conventional tank truck.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional side view showing an end plate of the conventional tank truck.

FIG. 3 is a partially enlarged cross-sectional side view showing a connection portion between the end plate and the tank body of the conventional tank truck.

FIG. 4 is a side view showing a tank truck of the invention.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional side view showing an end plate of the tank truck of the invention.

FIG. 6 is a partially enlarged cross-sectional side view showing a connection portion between the end plate and the tank body of the tank truck of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The technological means of the invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, a tank 2 of the tank truck of the invention is composed of a tank body 21 and two end plates 22. The tank body 21 is a hollow cylinder and has two open ends. The shape of the end plate 22 corresponds to the shape of the cross-sectional area of the tank body 21. The end plates 22 are respectively connected and fixed to the two open ends of the tank body 21. The end plate 22 is formed by pressing a thin plate with the thickness of 5 mm. The periphery of the end plate 22 has a smooth and straight section 221. One end of the smooth and straight section 221 away from the distal end is turned and connected to an arced convex portion 222, and the other end of the arced convex portion 222 is coupled to an arced concave portion 223 so that the arced convex portion 222 and the arced concave portion 223 form a continuously wave-shaped turning structure. Next, the other end of the arced concave portion 223 is turned and coupled to an arced convex surface 224, which has an arc curvature R2 greater than the curvature R1 of the conventional end surface 122 of the end plate 12 of the tank 1 of FIG. 2. The end plate 22 of the invention is formed by mainly forming three arced clamping portions using pressing molds so that the arced convex portion 222 and the arced concave portion 223, which form the continuously wave-shaped and turned structure, are formed, and an oil hydraulic press is used to extrude a deeper drum-shaped arced convex surface 224 at the middle portion.

Also, when the end plate 22 is separated from the molds, as shown in FIG. 6, the arced convex portion 222 has an outward bouncing stress F1, and the arced concave portion 223 also has a bouncing stress F2 toward two sides of the arc. The bouncing stresses F1 and F2 offset each other so that the smoothness and straightness of the smooth and straight section 221 can be held to facilitate the close connection to the tank body 21.

Thus, when two end plates 22 are to be respectively assembled with the open ends of the tank body 21, the smooth and straight section 221 of the end plate 22 is directly embedded into the tank body 21 so that the outer circumferential wall surface of the smooth and straight section 221 is in close contact with the inner circumferential wall surface of the tank body 21. Then, the interface between the end plate 22 and the tank body 21 is welded so that the end plate 22 and the tank body 21 are fixed together to form the tank 2.

According to the above-mentioned description, it is obtained that the tank truck end plate having the wave-shaped brink reinforced ring according to the invention has the following advantages.

First, the end plate of the invention is formed by forming three arced clamping portions simultaneously so that the smooth and straight section can be fixed without slip during the shaping and extruding processes, and the oil hydraulic press is used to extrude a deeper drum-shaped arced convex surface at the middle portion with the arced convex portion.

Second, when the shaped end plate is separated from the molds, its arced convex portion has the outward bouncing stress, and the arced concave portion also has the bouncing stress toward two sides of the arc. The bouncing stresses offset each other so that the smoothness and straightness of the smooth and straight section can be held.

Third, because the smoothness and straightness of the smooth and straight section of the end plate can be held, it may be easily welded to the tank body to have the better product feeling.

Fourth, the brink of the end plate is composed of the arced convex portion and the arced concave portion, which form the continuous wave-shaped turning structure. Thus, the strength of the end plate can be enhanced, while the smoothness, straightness and rigidity of the overall end plate can be enhanced. It is to be noted that the non-circular end plate has the unequal long and short axes, which cause the workpiece to deform when the workpiece is separated from the molds and placed naturally. Taking the end plate with the long axis of 245 cm and the short axis of 145 cm as an example, its middle deformation is about 15 to 25 cm. The end plate of this invention has the reduced deformation of 3 cm, and can be flattened with a little external force.

New characteristics and advantages of the invention covered by this document have been set forth in the foregoing description. It is to be expressly understood, however, that the drawings are for the purpose of illustration only and are not intended as a definition of the limits of the invention. Changes in methods, shapes, structures or devices may be made in details without exceeding the scope of the invention by those who are skilled in the art. The scope of the invention is, of course, defined in the language in which the appended claims are expressed. 

1. A tank truck end plate having a wave-shaped brink reinforced ring, wherein a periphery of the end plate has a smooth and straight section, one end of the smooth and straight section is turned and connected to an arced convex portion and an arced concave portion, which form a continuously wave-shaped turning portion, and an arced convex surface is turned and coupled to an inner frame periphery of the arced concave portion. 